Ridable vehicular toy



Dec. '13, 1932.

RIDABLE VEHICULAR TOY Filed April 23. 1952 E. M. SWARTZ 1,890,558

Patented Dec. 13, 1932 UNETD STATES PATE OFFlCE EDWARD M. SWARTZ, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO KEYSTONE MFG. 00.,

OF BOSTON, MASSAGHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS RIDABLE VEHIOULAR TOY Application filed April 23,

This invention relates to vehicular toys that are substantial copies in their construcstructions but are made in miniature. The material used, steel and other sheet metal, renders the toys as heretofore made strong enough to bear the weight of the child user but because made in miniature the drivers seat, as on trucks, fire apparatus, etc., and the steering wheel if any, are too small to be used by the child and heretofore the child has been able only to push the toy from one place to another while playing with it and has had great difficulty in controlling its direction of movement.

The object of this invention is to provide these structurally correct and strong vehicular toys with means enabling the child to ride upon them thus permitting the child to himself drive fire fighting apparatus to an imaginary fire; to drive his own truck to a road job; to imagine himself an air mail pilot driving his own airplane; to be the engineer, conductoror train man riding his own passenger or freight train as fancy may dictate; and so on through the whole list of such vehicular toys as are available in the market. A further object is to provide these ridable toys with enlarged or over-sized means for steering adapted to the childs hands to give him effective control of his direction of movement while seated upon and advancing with the moving toy.

To the accomplishment of these objects, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention comprises certain devices and arrangements of parts combined with vehicular toy structures, all as hereinafter described and then set forth in its true scope in the appended claim.

The nature and scope of the invention will best be understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates the invention embodied in a piece of fire fighting apparatus, namely a fire tower, shown in perspective;

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate in perspective and on a smaller scale, a dump truck and an air plane embodying the invention; and

1932. Serial No. 607,134.

' Fig. 4 is a view, in bottom plan, of one type of steering mechanism. tional and control features of standard con- In the embodiment of the invention illus trated in Fig. 1 of the drawing the fire tower is a substantialcopy, in miniature, of such a piece of fire fighting apparatus, made of steel and other sheet metal and capable of sus tainillg the weight of the child user or of an adult. Such a toy is ordinarily about two and one-half feet long and its body 10 offers ample width for receiving a seat 12 large enough to be comfortable for the child to sit on and consequently quite disproportionate to the minature seat 14 in the drivers compartment at the forward end of the vehicle. Preferably the enlarged drivers seat 12 is removable and to this end pairs of legs 16 at each side are slipped into pairs of sockets formed by angular brackets 18 secured to the inner faces of the sides of the body 10. There being no other sec-urement than the frictional contact of the brackets upon the legs, the auxiliary enlarged seat may be removed and replaced at will by any child. When the seat is in place, as illustrated, the child sits upon it and, in the absence of a motor, propels the vehicle by his feet, the length of the legs 16 purposely being proportioned to raise the seat high enough to permit such a mode of propulsion.

In order that the vehicle may be guided by the child the usual miniature steering wheel (when such is required by the nature of the toy) is discarded and a steering handle 20, large enough to be firmly grasped by the child, is connected to the steering mechanism. In the fire tower toy the rear wheels 22 are on. a transversely fixed axle and the forward wheels 24 are mounted, as shown by Fig. 4, to turn at the ends of the front axle 26 as in automobiles. The steering post 28 is provided with an arm 30 which, when the post is rotated, moves the shift bar 32 through the agency of a connecting link 34. Coasting is thus made easy and safe. 95

So that the toy may be flexible and adapted to use by children of different ages the steering handle 20 is not attached directly to the steering post but is adjustably connected by a sliding sleeve 36. The post is tapped at sev- 110 eral places along its length and the sleeve is provided with several holes having a like spacing so that the steering handle may be brought nearer to the enlarged auxiliary seat 12 by pulling it out on the steering post and securing by a screw 38 passed through aselected sleeve hole and threaded into the steering post.

In Fig. 2, as another example, a. dump truck 40 is shown having applied thereto an enward through the roof of the cabin to conveniently present the handle to the child driver. This toy is guided by a pair of swiveling rear wheels 56, the forward or chassis wheels 58 being as usual in airplane construetion. The steering post 60 is provided with an outturned arm 62 connected by a link 64 to the rear axle at one side of its central pivot pin so that rotation of the handle 54 will retate the connected axle in a like direction.

While, in the illustrated forms, an enlarged auxiliary seat is shown it will be recognized that some vehicular toys are such that a constructional portion may be utilized comfortably as a seat for the child without fitting the auxiliary seat. For example the roof of the cab on a miniature railroad steam engine is adapted for a child tosit on and to propel the engine. In this instance, like the airplane a steering post is extended upward through the boiler, preferably about midway thereof to be convenient for the child seated on the cab roof, and is provided with the enlarged steering handle. The usual swiveling forward truck is linked to the steering post in the manner shown for the airplane. The construction, being the equivalent of the airplane, will be understood without need of illustration. .A may have an enlarged steering handle applied to it in a similar manner, the child using the roof for a seat; or the handle may be applied to a railroad passenger or freight car, and other covered toys that stand fairly high so as to present a surface convenient as a drivers seat. v

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and itspreferred embodiments having been specifically described, what is claimed as new, is:

A childs vehicular toy having a body, front and rear pairs of wheels, one pair being movable relative to the body and steeringmechanism including a steering post at the forward part of said body operable to turn said movable pair of wheels for steering, all in miniature, and having an enlarged seat proportioned for the child to sit on and ride the toy supported by the rear part of said body, said steering post being provided with an enlarged steering handle proportioned for the child to grasp and steer the toy while riding it and means for adjusting said enlarged handle on its post to raise and lower it relative to said enlarged riding seat.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

EDWARD M. Sl/VARTZ.

toy covered steam roller 

